[Morning, Goethe Grand Hotel]
"Ah… slept really well."
After getting up, Stelle stretched a little. The candy Nero sent her last night was really tasty, and for once, she hadn't dreamed at all.
This was probably the most comfortable sleep she'd had since arriving on Jarilo-VI.
Thinking about meeting up with her companions, Stelle headed out.
Dan Heng and March seemed to already be up. Just as Stelle was about to go take a look outside, Nero's door was pulled open, and the boy walked out yawning.
Nero looked half-asleep. His snow-white long hair was a bit messy and not tied up, his clothes hung loosely on him, and under his right arm he was carrying a Rift creature called a "Hand Warmer," which was in fact a creation of Fragmentum.
This kid was usually full of energy like March, so this state was a special edition you could only barely catch for a brief moment each day right after he got up.
Come to think of it, dismantling the remaining landmines last night had taken quite a bit of effort too.
Stelle unconsciously curled her lips into a smile, then walked over, found a hair tie in Nero's coat pocket, and simply tied his hair into a ponytail.
Throughout the whole process, Nero just stood there obediently without moving at all.
When he woke up this morning, the system had already sent a congratulatory message saying the follower count was about to reach two hundred thousand, yet up to now he still hadn't run into his weapon or event.
But the Underworld wasn't an easy place to come to. Things would probably be fine once they went back up.
Aside from basic strength upgrades, this time the system made a big move and dropped two thousand Stellar Jades. Nero felt like he could host a large-scale event now.
The Rift industry project happened to be a good fit.
On top of all that, there was a new skill, called 'Do Not Disturb, Wander Freely'.
It sounded pretty airy and elegant, but the system said it was actually a defensive skill.
Nero hadn't tried it yet, though the skill description given by the system was, as always, At the peak, you pay respects to the clouds; vast and carefree, wander freely, do not disturb.
The kid's hair was a bit long now. Even after tying it into a ponytail, the tips still hung down to his waist. When there was time, he might need a trim.
Stelle lowered her head to look at Nero, wondering if he had grown a little taller compared to when they first met…
After that, the two of them walked out of the Goethe Grand Hotel together, and soon saw Dan Heng and March waiting not far away.
"You're finally awake! We've been wandering around outside for ages!" March said with a smile.
"I've noticed our schedules don't really match. You two either get up in the middle of the night or sleep like the dead. Not good, not good, team coordination still needs work."
Dan Heng asked Stelle, "Did you dream again last night?"
Stelle shook her head. When she woke up today, her mind was unusually clear, and she felt completely refreshed. She had no impression at all of dreaming yesterday.
"I don't remember whether I dreamed or not," she said.
March immediately chimed in with a strong sense of agreement, "Ah, that happens to me all the time too. Feels like I dreamed, but I don't remember anything about it."
Nero rubbed his eyes and said, "I did dream, though…"
The boy paused for a moment, his expression a little strange, but he continued anyway. "I dreamed that Pom-Pom was arguing with Hook."
March blinked. "I bet Hook couldn't win against the conductor!"
Nero went on, "She really couldn't, so she started fighting. Then I saw Hook lift Svarog with one hand and try to hit Pom-Pom, and Pom-Pom just ran her over with the train and sent her flying."
"Huh?"
March's brain short-circuited for a moment. Even for her, Nero's abstract dream left her a bit stunned.
"Maybe it's because we were too tired yesterday," Dan Heng said, then changed the subject.
"Let's go. We should find Wildfire to discuss the follow-up plan and see if they've discovered anything new."
"Yeah, let's go!" March said eagerly. "We're finally going back to the upper city. I can't wait anymore!"
By the time the four of them found Oleg, Sampo and Seele were there as well.
This uncle, who openly served as Wildfire's leader, warmly greeted the crew. "Yo, look who's here!"
Sampo very naturally showed off his ability to mess around, using a stiff, theatrical tone and a cheering voice. "It's the Svarog Slayer! The great hero of the Underworld, Stelle!"
Before his words even finished, Sampo's pupils suddenly shrank.
Dan Heng was fine, still calmly watching everything. March, on the other hand, was already getting annoyed, and behind the three of them was Nero!
Sampo immediately changed his tune. ", The great heroes… Dan Heng and March 7th! And also the overwhelmingly powerful, peerlessly domineering little sword immortal, Nero!"
Stelle shook her head. When it came to Sampo, she was already starting to feel helpless.
March, however, was still giving Sampo a sideways glance. "Pretty quick reaction, huh? So why did you have to list Nero separately?"
"Huh? Uh… well… that's… hard to say… really hard to say…" Sampo said, awkwardly laughing it off.
Dan Heng asked, "Where's Natasha? Is she not here?"
After all, Natasha was the real leader of Wildfire. Not seeing her at a time like this naturally raised questions.
Oleg smiled. "She still has a lot of loose ends to take care of. You can just talk with this old man here, what I say represents her meaning."
"Speaking of which, I really must apologize. I kept the fact that I was only Natasha's stand-in hidden from you all. Hahaha."
"It's not really a big deal," Stelle said generously.
Behind her, Nero, who was already starting to wake up properly, also spoke. "It doesn't matter who the leader is, as long as what they say counts."
Hearing that, Oleg showed a smile that looked somewhat kind. "Haha, the little hero really is open-minded. As long as you don't mind. Natasha has always been meticulous in her work, but she absolutely has no bad intentions. I'm sure you've noticed that too."
"She instructed me to make sure you return safely to the upper city. After thinking it over, the safest approach was still to ask this kid for help."
Sampo smiled and said, "I brought you down here, so of course I have to be responsible for bringing you back up~ This is free after-sales service, satisfaction guaranteed."
"Sounds good. Perfect timing, you also need to help us pick someone up," Nero said. He clearly had no objections.
If anyone present actually felt that Sampo was reliable, aside from Sampo himself, it was probably only him.
March shot Sampo a glance and said, "…We don't need to knock ourselves out this time, right?"
Sampo shook his head repeatedly. "Hehe… no, no. This time we're going up through the furnace core."
"Then what do we need you for? You might as well just go pick the person up for us," Stelle said.
Sampo replied, "I… can keep you entertained, maybe, just kidding! I'm kidding! This route's been sealed for over ten years. Not many people know how to go. You still need me!"
"Stop talking nonsense and just do your job as a guide," Seele snapped at Sampo, probably because she felt he talked way too much.
Dan Heng looked around and noticed that someone was still missing, so he asked, "Where's Bronya? Did she go up ahead by herself?"
At that moment, Seele stared wide-eyed in shock. "Bronya went ahead, huh? Wait… how do you know?"